frodo is home..i went into town to get him. he has been asleep on the chaise lounge in his royal suite since his return. i spent a couple of hours with him and had a short nap in the chair..when i left he was still sleeping.
brian and jenn agreed to try mia instead so she has gone back in frodo’s stead. mia won’t be attacking them both in righteous rage…she is sweet and safe.

the interesting about this all is frodo truly does love my family…but love means nothing where frodo is concerned. if he is pissed off…. any person’s blood flow is good.

at least he doesn’t make actual heads roll…he just slices and bites to voice his displeasure.

all we can do suzanne is live each day as it comes..today pops is doing fine..we hope the same for many, many days..but do not forget too, that pops is very old…he won’t be here forever so now is good enough for now.

you are a much stronger woman than i am, Carol. i weep from afar for the gut-wrenching sadness brought on by neglect and i don’t even live it all day every day the way you do. i can be sort of ok with things which are not INFLICTED, either by design or neglect, like Gideon… he has cancer and that is no one’s fault and while it will lay everyone right out when his time comes, it will not be because some stupid jackass idiot left him alone in a field for 20 years. i am in awe of you. if i was up close and personal with even a fraction of what you must see i would be in an indescribable RAGE absolutely ALL the time. and whereas i know that would be counter productive, i seriously doubt i would be able to control it since i have what is probably the world’s shortest fuse to begin with.
what an incredible gift you give to each of them. you know there is a special place in heaven being saved just for you.

actually…the reason i can deal with it all is because i am not 3000 miles away in gettysburg (shit!..i forget!..am i close??)….they come here and our job begins..to make that day, the first day of their new life. i can’t do a gawd darn thing about where they have come from or what they had to live thru…that is all too far before us. all any of us can do is start over today..and we have that gift here of being able to lay our hands on them to share that brand new day.
most of the readers from afar can’t touch pops, they can’t brush him, feed him apples, they can’t bring wheelbarrows of soft peat for under his tender feet..you guys are helpless so far away..you read and suffer his past pain without being able to now see and feel the joy. i think sometimes their pasts haunts you cuz the horror of some of it has nothing physical that you can touch (like our purehearted pops!) to chase those sad shadows away.

Carol is right. I saw a photo once of a horse in the same situation as Pops and I swore I never wanted to see anything like that again. It was just a photo. When I heard he arrived on site I was sick to my stomach and was afraid to see him. MO introduced me to him and my heart melted and soon you forget about where he came from and what he went through. Your weakness is replaced by strength, the strength to ensure you care for this animal the best you possibly can. You see his excitement at being with other animals. You see him roll on the ground. You take delight in his being able to lay down. Your heart melts when Emily (cow) nuzzles with him over his fence. It’s exciting to give him an apple. You sense that he knows he’s in a better place, surrounded by loved ones, be it human or animal. You do what you have to do and it’s all okay. And I know for a fact that Alison (volunteer) and Popeye are having a love affair. Don’t tell her husband.

Saturday night we raised a record $56,700. It takes a community to build something worthwhile. Saturday evening a community, bonded by love of the crippled crew at SAINTS, came together. The staff, volunteers and especially the crippled crew thank our community. pic.twitter.com/mPqt…

Willow passed away.
He had surgery earlier this week to remove a large bladder stone. He seemed to be recovering well but this morning the staff discovered he was unsteady and twitchy. He died within a few minutes. He most likely suffered a stroke and threw a clot, poor boy. pic.twitter.com/be3F…